FIREWORKS BLAMED FOR BLAZE

A fire believed ignited by fireworks burned 10 acres of brush and trees on the east side of Lambs Canyon, but did not destroy any structures.

Salt Lake County and Forest Service firefighters confined the fire to a small slope after receiving early warning from a canyon resident. She spotted smoke about 10 a.m. Monday, minutes after hearing popping sounds she initially thought were gunfire from illegal hunting."I was looking for hunters when I saw the smoke. It looked bigger than a campfire so I called," said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

Jim Cook, a fire management officer for Wasatch-Cache National Forest, said an initial survey of the fire scene indicated that bottle rockets ignited the blaze. An unexploded but apparently new firework was found near a turnoff just below the hillside that burned.

"They ought to outlaw those things. They've been a real plague to us the last couple of years," Cook said. "The majority of our fires are caused by bottle rockets and other fireworks."